CGU4M1

Liveable Cities Report

By : Jaiden Maunder
Introduction

Our conneXions class has gone on many adventurous class trips to many different cities

including Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Dundas and Brantford. We studied many different

social issues that occur within our world and we are able to appreciate and understand all

the wonderful things this world has to offer. We learned about many types of

infrastructure including transportational,, social and Food Systems Infrastructure

Transportation Infrastructure

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 1. Train Transit
Near the suburban community of
waterdown is the Aldershot station on Lakeshore
West of the Go Transit system. Passengers enter
a waiting area and can buy tickets at a machine or
a staffed kiosk inside the building. Passengers
pass through a tunnel to access the tracks. The
trains are double-decker with a quiet zone on the
top floor. This journey takes about fifty minutes.
Their mission is “to link communities across the
region, creating connections that support
sustainable growth and prosperity”. (metrolinx) In
2006, there were 68.8 million boardings.
.
2. Subway Metro

The subway metro system was a

very different experience compared to the bus rides
and the train rides. The metro system was very
crowded and the inside of the train moved around
every corner. The subway costs a small fee per
individual. Unfortunately because you are under
ground, there is no cell service for the passengers
to occupy themselves. In 2006, the annual cost of
congestion to commuters in the Greater Toronto and
Hamilton area was already $3.3 billion. For the
future of 2031, these costs to commuters in our
region and the economy will balloon to $7.8 billion
and $7.2 billion. (metrolinx)

3. Bus System (Hamilton)

In Hamilton we rode the bus to the

West Harbour to walk along the water. We had to
pay $3 per ticket to get on the bus and only rode it
for a few bus stops. We got to experience the
crowded business on the bus as people were trying
to move around to find seats and to get off at their
stop. These transit buses are wheelchair accessible
and has a ramp to allow all passengers on the bus
(dart reservation). Using a trip planner, you can

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create your own personalized route schedules and can monitor the location of the buses. (HSR
Bus Schedule)

4. Bike Share

In Hamilton and Toronto we passed bike

lanes. In Toronto, there were bikes that people could rent
for the day to travel around the city. In Hamilton we
passed one on James Street. The system there is calleD
Sobi. People can rent bikes in Hamilton for 9 cents a
minute or $15/ month per 90 minutes. Use a bike as part of a multi-modal commute. Walk- Bus-
Bike- Walk - Once returned, the bike is no longer your responsibility. (Sobi)

5. Highways

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 For residents of Water down use these major
highways to access the cities around us. We went to
Toronto on the QEW/Gardiner Expressway, and the 403
E to Toronto and 403 W towards Hamilton and
Brantford. The highways have high speeds, many
exists and on ramps to the highway. Two lanes are
three lanes are most common on our highways. Drivers
need to be constantly aware of their surroundings with
lane changing. On some major highways there is an
HOV lane which allows individuals to drive in this lane
with more than one passenger. This process is to
eliminate the amount of cars used and persuade people
to carpool. The 400 series was made in 1952 and is
1,971.8 km long and is maintained by the Ministry of
Transportation of Ontario (wikipedia)

Food System Infrastructure

1. Organic Farming at Our Father’s Farm

Our class took a trip to Our Father’s Organic Farm. We learned about many
different plants and herbs that are used to naturally heal cancer or help different
organs in your body. We got to taste test a variety of different plants, fruits,
vegetables and even some flowers. We sat in on an informative presentation on
different types of agriculture and how to grow these organic crops. This was a fun
first trip for our ConneXions class. Our Father’s farm also hopes to one day
incorporate an aquaculture system that allows the fish poop to fertilize the plants
instead. They also are famous for their apricot kernels and their Chaga
medicinal mushrooms. (Our Father’s Farm)

2. Food supply chain

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 The food chain supply is how the food is distributed. There is a process in how the food
is transported from the producers, to the processors, to the distributors, the eaters and the
waste. This is relevant to farmers who grow different crops like vegetables, fruits, corn, beans
etc. Farmers have to consider the process for their crops to make it to the markets safely and
clean.

Produ
cers
Farm
ers
grazi Proce
ers ssors
Conve
rt farm
produ Distr
ct into ibute
Make
food rs
food
produ product Eat
Buyers
ct s from
availabl distrib Food
e to From
utors Waste
buyers home,
or s
cafe,
directl restaur 3. Food
y from ants
produ Markets
food
cers product Amongst the many trips to
and ion Hamilton, and Toronto we
who visited many different food
consu markets with different
me varieties of food options from
the different countries all over the
food world. In Toronto we visited
China Town and went to the
market there and got to experience the different culture and the foods they have to offer. In the
food market we were able order different foods at the stands that they were selling. I ordered a
peameal bacon sandwich and while waiting for our food, the class left 5 students behind. We
went to the real food market and kitchen on King street. This market opens at 11:00am. Based
on the responses from the public, majority of the customers rated the market a 5/5 (4.4 / 5 %)
(Real Food Market & Kitchen)

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 4. Kensington market

The Kensington market is the

market that our ConneXions class visited
in Toronto. This market seemed very
similar to the market in Hamilton that we
visited . The Kensington market was very
big and had different stands and
boutiques up for display for the public to
buy their products. The Kensington
market has a wide array of specialty
grocers, bakeries and cheese shops.
(Kensington Market)

5. Mesa Restaurant

The Mesa Restaurant in Hamilton was one of my

favourite memories with the ConneXions class apart
from the trip to Montreal. We had the opportunity to
speak Spanish that we have learned throughout the
semester to our waiter and order our food and drinks in
a different language. This was a very unique
experience for me as I am more used to speaking
another language to someone else like french rather
than spanish. In spanish I order “quiero comer
quesadilla con pollo y un vaso de jugo de naranja.”
The Mesa restaurant has many different unique options
including Enchiladas with Cactus, Chimichangas and
Tamales

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 6. Mission services (Charity) helped
with food bank

Mission services is located on 325 James St.

N. Mission services is an organization that helps out
other people in need and is there to support them at
their roughest times. Our ConneXions class
volunteered a few hours out of our day to help
organize, sort and pack away different items into bags
for people to come pick up in their time of need.
Each bag is sorted with certain amounts of certain
items and usually is gathered together through an
assembly line of workers adding in one item at a
time down the line to the end pile. The Mission
Services Organization states, “ More than a meal,
we are a social services agency who believes
every person deserves safe housing, healthy food,
and opportunities for tomorrow”. Mission services
has many programs put in place and combined
working together with other organizations to help
individuals with their issues (addictions, abuse,
financial issues etc.) (Mission Services)

7. Cafe 541 (Non-profit- volunteer)

Cafe 541 was also located in Hamilton on

Barton St. This cafe is known as an eatery and
exchange which means customers can come and order
their food and donate $1 for a button to go into the jar
for someone else who is in need for a meal. This
organization is a non-profit organization and is run by
volunteers who come and volunteer their time there
throughout the week. The food comes in huge portions
and the food tastes very good. Their mission is “To
address the needs of the local community in tangible
ways through the love of Jesus Christ. (541 cafe)

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 Social Infrastructure

1. Ago tour (Indigenous issues and imperialism)

The AGO was the Art Gallery of Ontario.

This was personally was my least
favourite trip as I strongly dislike art and
this trip made me have more of a
stronger hatred towards art. We got to
explore around all the different exhibits
and the main attraction that many
people notice is the huge spiral
staircase floating in the atrium. There
are 90,000 different art pieces that are in
the Art museum. The art gallery is patrolled with armed guards who yell at you when
your bag or hands touch the wall. The one painting that made me the most mad, was the
pink pig who looked like it was drawn by a four year old. (AGO)

2. Alleyways (Laneway project)

Alleyways in Toronto are now a days seen as divey,

scary or unappealing. Alleyways are now used to
keep trash in the dumpsters, throw boxes, old bikes
and couches along the side and even has areas of
graffiti on the walls done by teengers or adults fooling
around. One day the goal for future alleyways is to
portray them as economically friendly, pleasing to
look at, positive and welcoming. Some future ideas
for laneway and alleyway projects is to have laneway
gardens where people can grow their fruits and vegetables in their backyards in Toronto. The
people can set up BBQ’s with decks or porches to sit and relax in the alley ways. Some alley
ways in Toronto that are close enough to all the action can potentially even open up a little cafe
or restaurant for people roaming the streets to visit. (Laneway projects)

3. Cultural centre and museum

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 At the Cultural Centre and museum in
Brantford we took a tour with a guide named Kailey
who had a very important and passionate story to tell
her audience. We took a journey through history
learning about many different indigenous issues and
different facts and knowledge on the history of these
type of people and when they lived. We learned
about the residential schools and all the horrible
things that occurred throughout the school like verbal,
mental, sexual and emotional abuse. Kailey told us
her story about her father who attend the residential
schools and was abused himself before he was
saved. Another teacher came on the trip with us and
his family joined too. His father went to the residential school in Brantford that we were
at and he explained his story and how he felt uncomfortable stepping foot on that
property and will never visit the residential museum.

4. Convention Centre

The Convention Centre in

Toronto was for the Peace
Breakfast Award for Claire’s book
about the refugee women living in
Kenya. We listened to three
different guest speakers with a
different religion and upbringing.
There was a speaker from the
YMCA in Hiroshima and she explained the horrific
traumatizing details behind the mistake bombing in
Hiroshima. The girl speaker provided so much detail
about the gruesome content that happened that the
audience could understand the emotion and pain the people felt who experienced it.
With Claire’s book she found out with her research that only two per cent of eligible
refugee children go to secondary school in Kakuma and a minority of those are girls.
(Kakuma Girls)

5. Harbour (Port)

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 We took a bus in downtown Hamilton to the
west harbour where there was cargo ships
transporting goods like coal and oil etc. We walked
along the pier and talked a little about the scenery in
the harbour. It was a lot colder by the water. We
talked about the future plans for the apartment
buildings that were being built in the open concrete
spaces. (West Harbour)

6. EverGreen Brick Factory

At the EverGreen Brick works we learned

about how you can have a green space in the
middle of the city. The EverGreen brick works
used to be the foundation where all the bricks
used in the city of Toronto were made. After the
foundation closed, the pit was used for raves
and a place where teenagers got together.
Eventually, the pit was filled with water and used
as a green site for the public to use to hike and
enjoy nature. On the weekends there is a market
and a cafe where they sell herbal teas.
(EverGreen Brick Works)

7. Montreal End of the year trip

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 Our ConneXions class had an end of
the year trip to Old Town Montreal and we
had many different tour guides including
Pierre and Louis. Mrs. O’Reilly tagged
along for the trip and got to tour around
the old streets of the city where she grew
up. We learned a lot about McGill
University and the foundation of Montreal
and how it all started. We spent three
days together roaming the streets and learning fact after fact about the
discovering of Montreal. Montreal is famous for their delicious bagels and
amazing sites to see. (Wikipedia)

Works Cited

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Costs of Congestion,

www.metrolinx.com/en/regionalplanning/costsofcongestion/costs_congestion.aspx.

Kensington Markets - Google Search, www.google.ca/search?

safe=strict&client=safari&rls=en&dcr=0&tbm=lcl&ei=dlBnWrOeJ8ekjwTz64W4DQ&q=

kensington+markets&oq=kensington++markets&gs_l=psy-

ab.1.0.0i46i67k1j46i67k1l2j0l2j0i22i30k1l7.44880.49418.0.52024.12.12.0.0.0.0.215.11

73.9j2j1.12.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-

ab..1.2.348...0i7i30k1j0i8i7i30k1.0.un1ySYzSXcs#rlfi=hd:;si:5128844828273795084;mv

:!1m3!1d3021.9926148515983!2d-79.40287514999999!3d43.65483405!2m3!1f0!2f0!

3f0!3m2!1i225!2i201!4f13.1.

Food Markets in Hamilton King Street - Google Search, www.google.ca/search?

safe=strict&client=safari&rls=en&dcr=0&ei=CVFnWqllpbuPBLKagdgD&q=food

markets in hamilton king

street&oq=food+markets+in+hamilton+king+street&gs_l=psy-

ab.3..33i22i29i30k1.9081.13907.0.21431.20.19.1.0.0.0.259.1828.9j7j1.17.0.crnk_dmh...

0...1.1.64.psy-

ab..2.17.1750...0i22i30k1j33i160k1j33i21k1.0.ueAJbkjYAYY&npsic=0&rflfq=1&rlha=0&r

llag=43258044,-

79883275,1867&tbm=lcl&rldimm=9378036423195009951&ved=0ahUKEwiQr-Tsr-

7YAhUJ24MKHQFBDG4QvS4IRTAA&rldoc=1&tbs=lrf:!2m1!1e2!2m1!1e3!

3sIAE,lf:1,lf_ui:10#rlfi=hd:;si:9378036423195009951;mv:!1m3!

1d17432.096918194635!2d-79.90360080950927!3d43.265053600195!3m2!1i251!

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 2i576!4f13.1.

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